


The Sweet Bells of Summer

by thesweetbellsofsummer



Series: The Sweet Bells of Summer [2]
Category: Original Work, The Sweet Bells of Summer
Genre: Death, Dragons, F/F, Fantasy, Magic, Nudity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-29
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 16:47:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9500687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesweetbellsofsummer/pseuds/thesweetbellsofsummer
Summary: Five years after the death of her family, Elizabeth Hunter is living in the seemingly perfect forest created by Mother Gaia for her most perfect creations. However, she and her closest (and only) friend Katlyn both long to leave the confines of their home. They get their chance when a human messenger from a neighboring kingdom infiltrates the forest, and delivers a message to Katlyn's father, begging for help after a slew of vicious attacks sweeping their land. While her father refuses to send any of his people to help, Katlyn sees these incidents as an opportunity to escape, and drags Elizabeth along with her after the messenger.





	1. Prologue

The moon grew large in the night sky and shone down into the deep pool hidden from prying eyes by a copse of weeping willows. The illuminated the figure of a young, nude girl, with bony ankles that looked ready to snap just from the strain of supporting her crouched body. All was calm: the wind, the water, the animals roaming in the night, and of course, her. It was almost time; the moon was at its highest. In the tense minutes before the ritual was to commence she used a short, sharp dagger to shave off long locks of curly brown hair. With each slice the pile around her feet grew until the light reflected off her head like it did the water. She glanced up to see the moon in position, and without a second of hesitation she stood up, closed her eyes, and dove into the depths of the pool.

 

Underneath the water, in the deep dark, was a total hush. With even the soft noises of the night gone she was swallowed in nothingness. The only sensations she could still catalogue were the slow, steady beating of her heart, the pumping of her gills, and the whisper of water against the sensitive webs between her digits. After what seemed like hours to her, what may have actually been hours as time within that space did not always pass as it should, her eyelids fluttered open. The light from above pierced the depths of the pool, and she could see the moon above her, so big and so, so bright, expanding until it encompassed everything. By then her sensitive pupils should have contracted from the onslaught of light, but they were still blown and it hurt, it hurt, she was burning, but she couldn't look away. She was drawn upwards, and as she broke the surface the girl gasped in surprise at the sting of the cold air hitting her wet, grey flesh. When she reached her peak, the girl felt as if she could almost grasp the moon, she was so close, but without warning she was plunged back beneath.

 

The girl found herself at the bottom of the pool again, the moonlight vanished, but as she began to despair its absence a bright glow began to shine out of the corner of her eye. She reached for whatever it was with thin fingers, and found herself grasping a smooth gem as round and bright as the missing moon. She turned it around in her hands, examining the gem, and recognizing it as a gift from the moon herself, recognizing the girl’s passage to womanhood. The gem pulsed, once, twice, and on its surface shone, for just a moment, a name,  _ Mona.  _ The name of the moon-the knowledge of which had only been granted to a few-had been gifted to her. Why, she did not know, but hoped that perhaps Mona’s light would drive away the loneliness the sea often brought her.

 

It wasn't until she emerged from the pool for good that Mona reappeared, not quite as large or bright as before, but instead a steady, reassuring presence. The peak of her height had passed, and the girl was tired, so, so tired, although she was not entirely sure why. She pulled herself from the pool and immediately flopped over onto her side, and lay there curled, naked and dripping for almost an hour, just trying to regain enough strength to make the walk home.

 

* * *

 

The girl headed home barefoot and half naked, pants on, but shirt slung casually around her neck. Her pack chafed her wet skin a bit, but her elation over completing the ceremony masked any discomfort. It was still dark, but Mona lit the dirt road before her, the light making it seem as if a ribbon was stretched out over the grassy moor. The path turned to rock, and the rock formed a cliff, and the girl carefully climbed down it to reach the beach, and her home, below. 

 

She landed awkwardly on the sand, and grimaced as she felt something unpleasant squelch between her fingers when she pushed herself up. Blue eyes looked down as she lifted her hand, and found that the unpleasant something was thick and blue like the blood that ran through her veins. As she stood up on trembling legs, the girl noticed that what she hoped was not blood lay spattered ahead of her as well, and with great horror, she glanced up to see the scorched and bloody bodies of her people. Corpses floated in the water, torn apart and missing limbs, pieces gouged out of those near the shore, while the beach itself was filled with scorched bodies, flames still burning.

 

On instinct the young girl rushed forward, unsure of what she could possibly accomplish, but hoping that she would find someone,  _ anyone _ that was still alive. She dug through the bodies, summoned waves to try to put out the fire, and screamed for help. There was no one. As she frantically searched, the girl heard a thundering roar from behind her. She whirled around in alarm, but was met only with fire and pain and  _ burning _ . She couldn’t see what had attacked her, couldn’t really see anything through the blindingly bright flames, and before long, she passed out under the stress of the heat and the pain.

  
For the second time that night the moon shifted form, this time the silver light arranging itself into the ghostly form of young woman. Tendrils of moonlight snaked down to the shore, a few pulling the girl into the water, the others pushing back the fire. There was too much to stop, however, and the woman could not venture far enough from the water to push through it and stop whatever had hurt her young charge. All she could do was retreat into the briny depths, and try to salvage the girl’s body from the damage wrought by the flames.


	2. Chapter 1

At twenty-two Eraenes Hunter was over seven feet tall, thin as a rake, and would have easily been mistaken for a tree had she not been such an odd shade of grey-blue. She lived in a small lake deep inside Gaia’s Forest, a blessed realm slightly offset from reality, created and protected by Mother Earth herself. The water was clear, the trees were tall and healthy, and the weather was always warm. Every night the moon was full, and Mona, being at her strongest in this state, could descend to earth and join Eraenes in the cool depths of her lake whenever she wanted. Ever since that night, when they had connected for the first time, the two spent all the time together that they could. When the two curled together in the silence of the water, power would thrum between them, pulling on the water around them and wrapping them in its currents.

 

Every morning at ten, Eraenes would swim from the dark depths of her home to the shallow edge of the lake, and would wait for the only person in the forest brave enough to come near her: Princess Katherine of the Court of Fauns. Katherine was short, green, and while quite deer-like around the face and from the waist down, but had nothing to fear from someone like her friend because even if Eraenes had shown the tendency to eat even humanoid creatures over the many years of their companionship, she only ate meat and the Princess was a being born of the earth.

 

Once Katherine would arrive at the water’s edge, Eraenes, no matter how hot out it was, would tug on her long sleeved tunic and pants, neatly wrap a roll of bandages around her hands and up each arm, and exit the lake. After she was out, Katherine would hand her the darkened spectacles needed to keep her overly sensitive eyes safe from the (to her) blinding sun. The two had kept that pattern for nearly seven years, ever since Mona had delivered Eraenes into the safety of the forest. Despite their long friendship, the elf had kept her silence on the events leading to her life there, not that Katherine hadn’t tried to extract it from her. The horror of that night had never left, the scars from the fire and the blows from the rocks Mona had been unable to prevent in her hurry to pull the girl under the water to safety never faded. She felt shame at the reminders of what had happened, for perhaps, if she hadn’t made that journey, hadn’t gone off to meet the moon, she could have helped, could have prevented at least part of the massacre. The Princess knew from the stories told to her by her father that the outside world was cruel, and that for someone from a race as strong as the sea elves to flee to the Forest, something she did not yet understand must have occurred. Eventually she realized it was a secret Eraenes might never reveal to her, and made her peace with it.

 

The friends had completed their schooling together, and finally they were closing in on the age of responsibility. Katherine’s people, while few, still needed a leader. Her father was aging, and would soon become too old to rule. Rot had already been spotted along his legs, and who knew when it would spread too far to manage? Preparing for power of that sort was difficult and tedious, even if Eraenes did her best to make the studies easier. Coming from another culture, she was able to share viewpoints and experiences the Fauns had never encountered, even if some of the more brutal aspects of elvish rule were not quite what Katherine needed to know. Eraenes did her best to shield Katherine from the worst of it, but she sometimes let slip forbidden tidbits when she was distracted or bored, as she often was by subjects like politics or geography.

 

Eraenes knew that when her friend ascended to the throne that she would be left alone most of the time; the feeling was akin to that of a mother anticipating the day her child would be grown and leave her. She didn’t know what she would do after that, after she had arrived in the Forest she was enlisted as Katherine’s companion almost immediately, Eraenes had nothing else established to fall back on. Katherine had been a welcome distraction from her sorrows, and by herself, Eraenes was unsure if she could stave off the repercussions much longer. Eraenes was doing her best to relish the time they had left, which might have been easier if she was willing to share her feelings on the matter, but as always sharing was not her strong point. Katherine knew that once she became Queen she would lose the chance to see the wonders of the outside world she could occasionally goad Eraenes into sharing. Tales of vast oceans and fairy pools and the open endless moors of the island her friend had come from fueled her fantasies of freedom. Together the two were restless, unhappy in what was supposed to be the ideal life, neither truly prepared for the world tomorrow would bring.

 

* * *

 

On this particular morning, after the friends met at the edge of the bank, the two headed off deep into the forest in the hopes of finding somewhere hidden from the rest of the Court. Eraenes welcomed the shade, as the sun tended to burn her and hurt her weak eyes. There were no actual roads in the forest, only small paths beaten down by generations of fleet footed satyrs rushing through year after year. The walk was quiet, the silence only occasionally broken by Katherine asking silly teasing questions and Eraenes answering with small, soft laughs. It was only when they were closing in on a treetop fort the two had built several summers previous that Katherine became serious in her questioning.

 

“ _ Eraenes, do you think we’ll always be friends like this?”  _ She asked.

 

_ “No, not like this I don’t think,”  _ Eraenes answered sadly.  _ “But I think we’ll still be friends, just in a different way. Everything changes, and even if we grow apart, there’s still now, nothing can take that.” _

 

_ “I guess that’s alright.”  _ Katherine tangled her fingers in Eraenes’s and tugged her forward.  _ “Come on, we’re almost there!”  _

 

The friends set off running towards their sanctuary, feeling like the children they hadn’t been in years. After all, they thought to themselves, all that is certain is the now, why not make the best of it?

 

* * *

 

The friends stayed in their own little world together until the sun no longer shone through the gaps in the leaves above them. Katherine insisted that Eraenes join her next to the fire in the Court’s dusk gathering, and even though she was getting quite hungry, Eraenes agreed. The Fauns didn’t need sustenance quite like she did, and thus had nothing when she sat at “dinner” with them. Sitting around the fire, listening to the tales of the elderly and the playing of the young made Eraenes feel very out of place. Katherine chattered endlessly to her father, as her friend sat beside her in silence, gazing intently into the flickering flames. She was entranced by them, and with each crackle she remembered. She remembered the burning and the bodies and the  _ stench _ of charred flesh and how not even the ocean waves and the salt of the air and the rushing wind could wash it away. Kaltyn noticed, but said nothing; she was used to it after so many years, and thought it best to let her alone as when she had prodded in the past she had been met with explosive retaliation. Still, she was sad, Katherine knew that Eraenes would only lose herself like that on her bad days, and that there was nothing she could do.

 

As Eraenes remembered and Katherine regretted and the Court came together, a branch snapped loudly not too far away from the gathering. All the satyrs startled up, carefully watching the direction the sound had come from. The sudden movement jolted Eraenes from her trance, and left her abruptly aware and overwhelmed by her surroundings. It took several seconds for her to reorient herself and realize that there was something coming their way. Eraenes slowly stood up, taking shallow, quiet breaths in an attempt to calm herself. She knew that no animal in Gaia’s realm would be large enough or careless enough to break something that big (besides the satyrs), and they were all within the small clearing in the heart of their village. However, the tense anticipation was broken by the thwack of another branch hitting something solid and a long stream of swears in the language of a neighboring country, a language Eraenes not only recognized, but understood. 

 

Eraenes cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted at the approaching stranger in  Ispaniká. “Over here, come over here!”

  
Her shout startled the satyrs, but Eraenes was sure in her belief that Gaia would not allow a threat into her Forest. Slowly, the person stumbled their way toward her voice, until finally a tall man stepped out into the clearing. His clothing was well made and his jacket a bright scarlet, obviously a fairly well-off citizen of Coraje, a large prosperous kingdom a few hundred miles to the southwest of the Forest. What someone from there, a _human_ no less, could possibly need to enter a place like the forest was a mystery. The man stepped forward, visibly nervous, sweating, and looked from the still frightened satyrs to the frighteningly large form of Eraenes, and shifted his weight from foot to foot, to try to avoid the stares. Eraenes glanced from Katherine to the King then back to the man. She knew that the satyrs probably couldn’t communicate with him, and so she stepped forward, ready to represent their home to him, and to try to determine why he had traveled so far to find them.


	3. Chapter 2

It took almost an hour of coaxing for Eraenes to settle everyone down and remind them that Gaia would never let them come to harm (it didn’t help that the satyrs were afraid of her almost as much as they were the stranger). She asked the man what he was doing in the Forest, and he identified himself as a messenger from Coraje, a fact she quickly passed on to Katherine’s father in an attempt to soothe his nerves. Luckily, reason eventually conquered his innate freeze response, and he had Eraenes instruct the messenger to follow her to his home to deliver to him the message. Eraenes hadn’t spoken the language for many years, and her speech was halting and awkward, but she had kept up in her studies and was able to convey the King’s words to the man. He went with her to the King’s home, a large hut woven from still living trees.

 

The messenger sat cross legged on the floor of the hut, facing Katherine and the King (Katherine because she insisted on sitting beside him). Eraenes stood stiffly beside the messenger, ready to translate his words. The man removed a scroll from his pack, sealed with red wax and stamped with the coat of arms of Coraje’s royal family: a roaring lion set before two crossed swords. He broke the seal, cleared his throat, and read as Eraenes carefully translated.

 

_ “Greetings, this is a message from Queen Jaya of Coraje to the ruler of the Court of Fauns, faithfully delivered by my trusted servant William. A series of grievous incidents have occurred within and around my kingdom, killing many. We have come to suspect that the attacks are magical in nature, and humbly request the assistance of learned mages from your Court to assist us. I understand if you do not wish to help, as you are no doubt unaffected by this, but I implore you, please come to our aid. _

_ Signed, with noblest intentions, by Queen Jaya of Coraje.” _

 

When the message was finished the King stood up and left the room to gather his wits and determine his answer. Katherine sat primly in her chair and directed her attention at her friend. 

 

_ “Eraenes could you please translate for me?”  _ She asked eagerly.  _ “I want to know more about this ‘Coraje’, have you been there? Do these humans live near Skye?” _

 

_ “Of course I will, and no, I have never been there. The Kingdom is actually to our South, not the North, and I only know the language because such things were included in my studies as a young girl. We used to travel very far for trade, and such multilingualism proved most useful,”  _ Eraenes replied.

 

_ “Used to?” _ Katherine prodded, spotting her opening.

 

_ “Do you not have questions for our friend here?”  _ Eraenes quickly evaded.

 

_ “Of course, of course,”  _ Katherine agreed.  _ “Ask him about the people! Are they all human like him?”  _

 

Eraenes relayed her Princess’s question, and William answered that yes, all the citizens of Coraje were human. He continued on explaining about the knights and servants and noblemen in the Queen’s castle, as well as recounting life living in the Kingdom’s inner city, he spoke about the houses and markets and the small theater not too far from his home. Katherine was enraptured by this information, listening intently to William’s descriptions and Eraenes’s translations and explanations for over an hour. Eraenes’s voice tired quickly, but she could not bear to stifle Katherine’s curious nature.

 

* * *

 

When Katherine’s father finally returned he found the three still in his sitting room. William shot up to his feet when he noticed the King’s entrance, eager to hear the man’s response, while Eraenes in turn rose to stand beside him. The King settled next to his daughter, and Katherine leaned into him with a smile.

 

_ “Young messenger I am afraid that I must deny your Queen’s request for our assistance,” _ the King said solemnly.  _ “We of the Court, children of Gaia, do not wage war nor bring harm unto others. I will not allow my subjects out into the world of man so defenseless. Forgive me.” _

 

William nodded in understanding, obviously disappointed, but he stayed composed. Eraenes had done her best to keep the King’s words as soft as possible, but a no was still a no. William shifted nervously, now unsure of his next actions. It was night, and much too dark for someone to wander around a place like the Forest alone. The King offered William a bed in his home, and soon enough it was time for Eraenes to return to her lake to sleep curled with her beloved Mona.

 

Eraenes walked slowly through the Forest, the light of the moon guiding her home and shielding her from danger. She was distracted by thoughts of Coraje. While Eraenes had never personally been there, most of the elder elves had, and she spoke enough of their language and knew enough of their culture to be enraptured by it. She had had several interactions with human, but never on so large a scale as a city.  _ Perhaps, _ she thought.  _ Perhaps when Katherine in crowned Queen I shall go, I will no longer be needed anyway. _ Once she reached the edge of the lake Eraenes shed her clothes, took off her glasses, and dove into the water. The cool depths soothed the irritated scars marring her long body, and the absolute darkness allowed her sensitive eyes a rest.

 

Soon enough silver shimmers began to appear in silky strands coiling around her, weaving themselves together until a gorgeous woman had formed with Eraenes wrapped in her embrace. The two stayed entwined, did nothing but find quiet comfort in the other, and Eraenes was just drifting off to sleep when a loud -SCREECH- traveled through the water and reached her ears. She flailed, jerking back from Mona and then forward, smacking her beloved in the chest accidentally. Mona had to grab her and press Eraenes firmly against her chest to calm the young woman down. Mona, who was generally a very calm being, reasoned that it was probably just her love’s friend, and that Eraenes should go to her, so  _ gently _ , she grabbed Eraenes by her sides, and pushed her upwards, towards the surface. 

 

Eraenes’s head bobbed on the surface of the lake, dark hair falling over her face and the shimmery scars, mostly concealing them from view. Hard, angry eyes stared up at Katherine, and the surprised face of William. Eraenes let out a low growl at the abrupt intrusion into her nighttime activities. Katherine took a step back in response, but her eyes were trained on the hints of old pain peeking from beneath Eraenes’s dark hair. Katherine was a bit frightened of her friend in that moment. During the day the sun gave her power, but night was Eraenes’s domain, the moon and the darkness giving her power and protection. There was no doubt in Katherine’s mind about her friend’s status as an apex predator, no matter her usual way of carrying herself. Katherine watched as Mona disintegrated herself back into her true form, leaving Eraenes privacy to deal with her.

 

_ “What. Do. You. Want?!” _ Eraenes gritted out through clenched teeth.

 

_ “Eraenes I’m so sorry we interrupted, oh Gaia! She was down there wasn’t she I’m so sorry!!!”  _ Katherine blurted out after realizing what she had probably interrupted.

 

_ “What.” _

 

_ “Ah, ah, we’re leaving, and I want you to come,”  _ Katherine explained.

 

_ “Leaving?”  _ Eraenes asked, calming down, but still with an edge of danger in her voice.

 

_ “For Coraje. My father doesn’t want any of the Court getting hurt, but as the Princess I do have some leeway for when I can come and go, a-and you’re not even part of the court, you can leave whenever you want, and you know so much about the outside. I need you to come with me, Eraenes, please, I need to see outside of the Forest!”  _ Katherine implored.

 

Eraenes stared back at her friend, annoyed, but she knew that even if she didn’t agree to go, Katherine would anyway. The Princess had never been outside the Forest, and had no solid experience with even the defensive uses of her magical ability, only domestic ones. The pendant around her neck glowed and vibrated against her chest, chiding her, and so Eraenes let the anger roll off of her. She grabbed her clothing, dove beneath the water, and came back up several minutes later, dressed, packed, and ready to leave.

  
The group left the Forest that night on foot, trying to put as much distance as possible between them and the King. Even if Katherine was an adult, it was still likely that her father would send someone after her to bring her home. Mona sat far above them, lighting their way.


	4. Chapter 3

The trio walked through the night and on until noon. By then, they had all been awake for far too long, and collectively decided that they had put enough distance between themselves and the Forest that they could safely rest. Katherine and William decided to nap a ways off the path, where it was sunny and warm, while Eraenes went on a little farther in search of a stream to cool down in. She made sure not to get too far from Katherine, and kept an ear out to make sure nothing happened. Katherine, while not even remotely stupid, had never been in the world of man. While Eraenes had been able to recite certain histories of the human civilizations and all the death that accompanied it, she wasn’t sure if her friend had taken the intended lesson to heart.  _ Humans. Were. Dangerous. _ A human could be good, intelligent, wonderful, but humans as a collective were a plague.

 

They slept through the setting of the sun and woke as it rose. Eraenes had missed two nights with her beloved and so she woke up cranky, deprived of some of the only physical contact she was comfortable with. Still, she dutifully rose, dressed, and rejoined the group. Katherine was stretched out underneath the sun, feeding, and allowing the dew that had gathered on her skin to soak into her body. Bliss was clear in her face, and Katherine couldn’t help but notice how different the sun felt outside Gaia’s Forest. Sunlight may have kept her perky, but it didn’t do the same for anyone else. The cracks that William’s back and neck made as tried to stretch after spending the night sleeping on the ground were audible, and he grimaced with each movement. Eraenes had spent the night in shallow water, and so when the sun began to peak over the horizon the light was able to penetrate to where she had fallen asleep, irritating her. Eraenes brought fish from the stream to the campsite, assuming that William probably didn’t have much on him. She tossed him one, and as he looked on in horror and Katherine looked on in fond disgust, she ate hers raw. Eraenes’s outward appearance suggested an educated, put together individual, what with her modest clothing and glasses, but her eating habits betrayed that suggestion and showed a carnivorous sea dweller. No one commented though, as Katherine was used to it and William was too polite, and perhaps a little afraid.

 

William started a small fire and cooked his fish in the embers, eating it on a small plate with a knife and fork he procured from his bag. As the three had breakfast, Katherine, now fully energized, was ready to engage in one of her favorite activities: asking questions. 

 

_ “Eraenes ask William if he knows more about the summons, it must be serious if they sent someone to the Forest, right?”  _ Katherine asked.

 

Eraenes relayed the question to William, who answered that he had not been permitted to know the details of whatever had happened. All he knew was that it was urgent that he take the letter to the Court as fast as he could. What Katherine and Eraenes  _ did  _ learn, however, was that William wasn’t the only messenger sent out. Supposedly there were letters to all the neighboring Kingdoms, remote villages of Coraje, and to every magical community the Queen could find. The two realized that something must really be wrong for there to be a response of that magnitude to it. Seeing his new companions thoughtful expressions, William attempted to give them more information, on the chance some of it would help them. 

 

“I may not know what exactly is going on, but the letter did say they thought whatever it was had to do with magic. That Forest was magical wasn’t it, and you’re both...maybe you’ve heard something in passing and forgot about it,” William suggested.

 

“I doubt it,” Eraenes replied. “The Forest and its inhabitants are cut off from the rest of the world, as is its nature.”

 

“But you speak as if you’ve been to Coraje before.”

 

“No, never, but I am not of the Forest, I am from Skye,” Eraenes explained.

 

“Skye? I think I’ve heard of it, it had trade relations with Coraje I believe.”

 

“Had, yes. Due to the connection your language was taught in our schools as a valuable life skill, however it has been many years since I last spoke it, and I apologize if my translations are at all incorrect,” Eraenes answered.

 

“Why did we stop trading anyway, no fallings out I hope?” William asked.

 

“No, no fallings out,” Eraenes replied while trying to keep her face impassive and voice steady. “As it happens there are over two thousand kilometers between Skye and Coraje, a very long distance to travel to trade for non necessities. We mostly exchanged things like pearls for some of Coraje’s silks and satins.”

 

“Silk and satin? But don’t you live underwater?” William asked.

 

“Yes, but we often met with Skye’s land dwellers, and looking presentable is only polite,” I answered. “Now, I believe it is time to start.”

William agreed, and Katherine was always ready for action. The group started their day’s journey in silence, all wondering about what would await them in Coraje.

 

* * *

 

Later that day the group reached the border of Coraje, where a small sign was the only thing marking the transition. However, as they continued on, the wooded path slowly gave way to large grain fields, workers toiling away on each side, reflecting the change to man’s realm much more clearly. The Corajen countryside was beautiful. After the fields were rolling hills and tiny bustling towns, but while William was used to it, and Katherine welcomed the sun, the heat was overwhelming for Eraenes. She spent most of the journey trying to stay in the shade, and had to keep wetting down the handkerchief she had tied around her neck, covering the sensitive, fluttering gills there. As soon as it became dark, she made them set up camp near another stream, and immediately submerged herself. While she tossed her clothing up onto the bank, Eraenes herself did not rise for nearly an hour.

 

When Eraenes popped her head above the surface she brought more fish with her, and threw one to William before ducking back under to devour her prey. While she could probably find something bigger and a bit more appetizing elsewhere, she didn’t want for anyone to see her with her clothes off, nor did she want blood to stain them. She hoped that there would be something tastier than trout in a palace, especially considering that they would be guests. Eraenes knew how wealthy Coraje supposedly was, and wanted to see it for herself. 

 

Skye had mostly been ruins by the time Eraenes had been born, and nothing was ever done about it because it would “disturb the history.” How crumbling pillars and worn statues could serve as a proper home she had never understood, but that was what she knew, so that was where she stayed. The Court had been so different when she had arrived half dead and out of her mind with terror. Mona had delivered her safely into the lake. After she felt safe enough to leave, Katherine, a then unknown variable, had brought her clothing and took her to the village. Everything there was perfect: the trees, the homes, the weather. The world inside the Forest was immaculate and, despite the heat, Eraenes could not help but love it. Coraje was even farther south than the Court, but Eraenes hoped the experience would be worth the discomfort. Eraenes drifted to sleep on thoughts of spiced meats and good wine.

 

* * *

 

A few days later the three stood at the top of a tall hill, and in front of them, the shining gates of Coraje’s inner city, Leónsangre. From their vantage point the spires of the Queen’s castle were easy to see, as well as the bright scarlet flags fluttering in the wind. Katherine and Eraenes were amazed by the sheer beauty of the city from afar, while William just seemed happy to be almost home. In excitement Katherine leapt forward and stumbled, sending her into an awkward tumble-slide down the hill, where she landed on her rump at the base. She broke out laughing below her friends, her infectious giggles sending them into laughter as well. The two still at the top hurried down after her, still chuckling, and helped her to her feet. Bursting with anticipation, the group started their walk with new vigor. Eraenes was shaking a bit, but the grin that split her face meant it was a good tremor, as Katherine happily observed. 

  
Within an hour they reached the gates, large and imposing, and with just a nod in the direction of a guard from William, they were let in. Inside was like nothing the friends had ever seen.


	5. Chapter 4

The city was unlike anywhere the two friends had ever been. The roads were smooth and paved, the building sturdy and clean, and the people,  _ all  _ the people, were well dressed and happy looking. Right before the gates swung closed, Katherine looked back through them and noticed other travelers in the distance. She correctly assumed that they were others that had been summoned by the Queen. Her attention was brought back to her front when Eraenes nearly tripped and she had to make sure her unwieldy friend didn’t fall and hurt herself. William escorted them to the palace, and the friends bade their goodbyes as a bevy of maidservants lead the two to their guest chambers. And so in no time at all Katherine and Eraenes had separated from William, the only familiar person in the castle, and had found themselves with a luxurious suite of rooms, and instructions for dinner. At six they were to don their nicest clothing, and they would then be escorted to the dining hall to join the other invitees.

 

The second the servants were gone Eraenes dropped her heavy bag on the ground, took off her boots and glasses, and passed out on the bed. The room was cool enough that it wouldn’t be as much as a pain to sleep somewhere so dry. Katherine, however, was still full of energy, and instead of sleeping chose to explore their rooms. Off the bedroom was a washroom, a sitting room, and much to her delight: a balcony. She opened the glass doors leading out, and found herself overlooking the palace’s rear gardens. Katherine looked down at the rose bushes below, and then out at the carefully sculpted hedges. Delighted, she willed one of the bushes to grow up, up,  _ up _ to her. Katherine leaned in to sniff it, and the aroma lifted her spirits even higher, she couldn’t even comprehend how something bad could be happening somewhere as gorgeous as Coraje. It was definitely worth risking the wrath of her father to come here, she thought, even if she still felt a bit guilty about dragging Eraenes out of her lake in the middle of the night. Katherine decided, seeing as she had several hours before dinner, to prepare herself the nicest gown she could. As her clothing consisted solely of plants grown from her own skin, she didn’t have to rely on a set amount of options. Katherine began by picking a color, blue, and then began the long process of choosing flowers and growing them together in a weave to her liking. 

 

Eraenes woke to a cheer of success from her friend. Looking up, she found Katherine in the center of their bedroom twirling in a flowing gown made from blue hydrangeas and giggling in delight. The sight was enough to make her grin and reach for her own pack. While Eraenes didn’t own many clothes, she did have a set of dress robes she would sulk around the outskirts of Court celebrations in. Elves tended to carry all their possession with them when they traveled, so that night she had gone to complete her initiation ritual Eraenes had brought everything she could put her name to. This included her books and scrolls, her quills and ink, her clothes, and of course the rolls of Corajen silk she planned to make her mother a new dress from. After arriving at the Court, there was obviously no reason to use the cloth for her mother, and so eventually, after reaching her full height, she made herself something nice to wear. Eraenes donned the floor length black robes over the matching shirt, with its high collar. She kept her usual pair of worn boots though, as the robes would more than adequately cover them when she walked. The subsequent goofing off of the two, dancing and enjoying themselves in the fancy room, occupied them until dinnertime.

 

* * *

 

At six sharp a loud ringing sounded throughout the palace, breaking the friends away from their foolishness. Seconds later there was a knock at their door, and on the other side they found one of the servants that had shown them to their room on arrival. Jessica, she introduced herself as, and promptly took them through the palace to the main dining hall, a room primarily used for feasts during the Kingdom’s many religious festivals. 

 

Jessica left them at the entrance to the hall, and as she hurried away the two slipped through the truly enormous door leading inside. A long table dominated the room, already mostly filled by clamoring guests. As the two searched for some empty seats they noticed that they were the only ones there that weren’t human. Everyone else seemed to be knights from other Kingdoms or glory seeking, foolhardy men. The two suddenly felt very awkward, and sat down across from each other as fast as they possibly could. They could feel the curious eyes of the other guests boring into them, but did their best to avoid acknowledging it. As tall as she was, Eraenes could both easily ignore the piercing stares, and see far above the heads of everyone else in the room. She noticed that the seats at the end of the table to her left were vacant, most likely left for the Queen, but that the other end of the table was already occupied by a tall, greasy man clothed in scarlet, and by the looks of it already well on his way to being drunk, despite there not being anything besides dishes on the table yet. She decided that he must have brought his own flask to the table, rude, but not especially odd she assumed, letting her poor views of humans sway her assumptions. 

 

While silently judging the greasy man at the end of the table, Eraenes didn’t notice the doors behind her swing open, but Katherine did. The young woman glanced over only to see Coraje’s very own ruler, Queen Jaya, in all her resplendent glory enter the room surrounded by a group of what appeared to be several maidservants and a bard. Katherine tapped Eraenes’s hand and pointed at the entrance to alert her, and as everyone rose to their feet, the elf shot up embarrassed and clumsily, almost knocking her poor neighbor over in her haste. Everyone at the table stayed standing until the Queen strode to her chair and sat primly on her seat. The second she did the guests and the Queen’s servants all fell as one, and this time Eraenes managed to move with a bit more grace than she had before. The Queen said nothing besides a brief greeting, and with a wave of her hand the meal was carted in and served. Trays of steaming meats and roast vegetables were placed on the table, while servants walked around the table filling all the goblets to the brim with wine. Eraenes nabbed Katherine’s cup almost immediately, knowing that the woman had never had alcohol before. She both didn’t want her friend to be too drunk, and she wanted to make sure she herself had enough to at least feel the buzz of intoxication. Katherine had no desire for the admittedly delicious looking food that had been set before her, but Eraenes was happy to eat what she wouldn’t.  She gorged herself on the meats provided, which she thought were excellent, despite the fact that they were cooked, as Eraenes usually ate her meat fresh and raw. The two were also thankful for the distraction the meal provided the others at the table, as they were no longer being watched so closely. 

 

* * *

 

Several hours later after a quality feast and strong wine, the guests had settled down quite a bit. As the dishes were taken away, the Queen rose from her seat and cleared her throat to get the attention of those assembled.

 

“Greetings honored guests of Coraje!” The Queen began in soft, but commanding, voice. “I thank you all for coming, and I am sure that you are all eager to know what exactly has prompted my summons.” Murmurs of agreement spread throughout the table as Eraenes leaned towards Katherine to translate. “I wrote of a series of incidents on the edges of our borders, some of which a few of you may already be aware of.” A few more shout of agreement sounded. “Before any of you agree to help us, I must tell you of our suspicions as to the culprit. We believe that Coraje is under attack by … a dragon.”

 

Shout of surprise echoed through the room. Eraenes felt herself freeze up at the thought of a dragon, those flames. She remembered vividly the pain of burning. Katherine, while a bit frightened, was mainly interested. To her a dragon had always been like a fairy tale, a scary monster in the stories Eraenes would sometimes tell on moonless nights. The Queen, realizing that she could probably not say anymore because of the din, waved her hand in dismissal and left with her posse. Eraenes and Katherine, now tired and annoyed by the noise decided to return to their bedchamber. The two hurried away, completely unnoticed by the other guests, and retraced their steps back to their rooms. 

 

The friends washed and changed before collapsing onto their bed together. They curled under the blankets and did their best to sleep, but seconds before Eraenes could drift off, Katherine asked her a question.

 

_ “Eraenes, you used to tell me all those stories with dragons in them, have you ever seen one?” _

 

Eraenes froze, unsure of what to say. She thought about the fire, and the bodies torn apart, and the deafening roar she had heard right before she-.  _ “Not seen, my friend, but experienced.” _

  
Katherine wanted to ask more, but Eraenes turned away from her and pulled the covers tighter around herself. They fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 5

The next morning Eraenes woke to an empty bed. She got up and dressed in her only clean tunic: the one that spent the journey rolled up at the bottom of her bag. With hair and teeth brushed and face washed she walked out of the bedroom, and found Katherine doing her morning stretches in the sitting room. With such deer-like legs the Princess obviously couldn’t do most of the usual stretches one does with a humanoid body, but the ones she had come up with herself were just as effective. Katherine had already formed her usual fuschia arrangement that mimicked a lovely off the shoulder sleeve style with a crown of large flowers around the top. Her mossy fur had been brushed, and with the morning sun shining on her through the opened curtains she looked positively ethereal.

 

Katherine looked up when Eraenes came in looking tired, but alert. The Princess had been up for over an hour already and had spent her time waiting trying to look her best for their second audience with the Queen. Katherine sprung up from her pose and with barely a word of greeting dragged Eraenes out of the hallway and back down to the dining hall for breakfast.

 

* * *

 

When the friends reached the dining hall and walked in, they found that they were the first ones to arrive, and breakfast had already been placed on large platters on the table. Relieved at not having to immediately be surrounded by strangers, they sat down at the same seats they had had the night before and started breakfast. Eraenes had bacon and sausages and ham, along with orange juice (some of which she managed to convince Katherine to try, who decided she liked it just as much as tea). However, after an hour at the table, no one had joined them. No one that is, until the doors behind Eraenes swung open and the Queen’s group walked in. The friends turned to face her, and said nothing when the Queen froze, clearly surprised that Katherine and Eraenes were the only ones in the dining hall. 

 

The Queen started to stutter out a greeting, but the friends, in an attempt to make a good impression leapt up and bowed deeply before her before she had a real chance to make a fool of herself. The woman flushed in embarrassment at the two stiff figures, and there was a chance that the whole interaction would have ended badly had the bard not immediately burst out laughing at the scene. A short woman to the Queen’s left glanced at her disapprovingly, although she appeared to be fighting back a grin herself. The Queen didn’t acknowledge either of them, and instead went to her seat at the end of the table, sat down, and started breakfast while trying to avoid eye contact with anyone else. Her group all sat down in their respective spots as well, and breakfast continued in silence, which was especially easy as Katherine and Eraenes’s seats were in the middle of the table, which was almost thirty meters away from the Queen’s seat. When everyone was finally finished the Queen rose and left. One of her servants stayed behind and came over to the two friends to tell them to follow her, and so they did.

 

The servant took them to the palace’s throne room, a grand and spacious chamber decorated in scarlet and gold. The Queen was perched on her throne, the bard sitting at her feet, and the short woman standing at her side. The greasy man from the night before stood next to the Queen as well, but all of the maidservants had scattered elsewhere. The friends stood in front of the Queen, ready to hear whatever it was that she had to say to them. Oddly enough though, it was Eraenes that spoke first.

 

“Pardon any offense please your majesty, but I am afraid the Princess cannot speak your language, so I will need to translate for her,” Eraenes informed the Queen as politely as she could.

 

“Ah y-yes that’s perfectly fine miss?”

 

“Hunter. Eraenes Hunter of Skye, my friend here is Princess Katherine of the Court of Fauns. We received your letter several days ago and arrived as quickly as we could, of course,” Eraenes replied, not mentioning the fact that she had initially not wanted to come.

 

“I thank you both for coming, and of course for staying. I’m afraid that last night’s speech scared off everyone else that responded,” the Queen said sadly. 

 

_ “Eraenes look at her, you have to make her feel better!” _ Katherine nudged.

 

_ “And how exactly would I do that? You know how bad I am at things like that!”  _ Eraenes replied.

 

_ “Just repeat what I say. ‘We are sorry that no one else stayed, but we are sure that we can assist you without them’.”  _ Eraenes relayed her friend’s words to the Queen, who perked up a bit at Katherine’s message.

 

“Maybe so, but I would never send just the two of you alone. I already planned to send Lady Morgan along with whatever group was willing.” With this the Queen waved the short woman forward. “Lady Morgan is the second in command of the royal guard and one of my best knights.” Morgan nodded at Katherine and Eraenes in greeting. “Now I just need to find a few more willing to send with you.”

 

“Is there anything you would like us to do before our departure, your majesty?” Eraenes asked.

 

“The two of you will need to be armed, and I’m sure that neither of you brought enough supplies for a long journey. I’ll send some servants to your quarters after dinner to handle some of the supplies, and Sir Ronald here-” she gestured to the greasy man, “-will take you to the armory to find you some weapons, and if we can, some armor.”

 

“Understood, your majesty,” Eraenes replied. “And we thank you for your hospitality.”

 

“The pleasure is all mine Miss Hunter.”

 

Sir Ronald stepped forward, and offered to take them to the armory immediately, to which the Queen agreed. He walked close to the two friends, and without even a greeting, escorted them out of the throne room. Sir Ronald said nothing and did not even look at the friends as they followed him down several halls, outside, and to a secure looking (if small) building that they guessed had to be the armory. He took a heavy iron key from within his pocket and unlocked the sturdy door leading inside, before slipping in with no invitation to follow. But follow Katherine and Eraenes did, as Eraenes knew how most humans regarded those that were other, and Katherine knew no better than to follow her friend. 

 

The inside of the armory was dry and hot, with lanterns instead of windows for light. The walls were made of a dark stone that seemed as if it swallowed the scarce light the lanterns labored to produce. On metal hooks fixed into the stone were rows upon rows of swords and spears and axes, while racks of bows and their arrows stood in the corners. There was a door at the back of the armory, and as soon the group stepped inside it opened to reveal a tall, muscular woman. She was sweating from every pore, which wasn’t that surprising as the heat radiating from the doorway felt like the sun itself was residing just within. Katherine glanced behind the woman, and saw that the room through the door was the weaponry’s forge. 

 

“Good morning, Ron,” the blacksmith said, not seeming overly pleased about him being in her armory.

 

“Jasmine,” he greeted with a bland smile. “Her majesty has ordered me to arm  _ those _ .” He pointed back at the two friends.

 

Eraenes tensed up, not surprised at his attitude, but uncomfortable nonetheless. She did not let Katherine know of what he said, not wanting to have her feelings be hurt. Jasmine’s lip curled back in disgust, but to Eraenes’s surprise not disgust at her or Katherine, but at Ronald. When she noticed this, Eraenes relaxed, and Katherine, who had noticed and wondered about her friend’s initial discomfort, was relieved when the tension drained out of her body.

 

“If it’s weapons they need I already have something for the little one, but the other one might have to go without,” Jasmine decided after assessing Katherine and Eraenes for a moment or two. 

 

Eraenes passed this onto Katherine, who in turn asked Eraenes if she really needed a weapon anyway. The elf had been extensively trained in magic her entire life, including its offensive and defensive capabilities. Eraenes was likely skilled enough to not need a man-made weapon. Katherine on the other hand, while adequately skilled in her own magic, had never needed to apply it under duress, and was unsure how she would fare in a battle. 

 

Eraenes turned back to the blacksmith and said, “It will be alright if you are not able to procure me a weapon, it is likely that I will have no need for one.”

 

“Alright,” Jasmine replied, looking much happier to be interacting with Eraenes instead of Ronald. “Does that mean your friend there is still going to need one, then?”

 

“Ah, yes. But a sword may not be the best option, perhaps something long range would be better?” 

 

“A bow then. She looks about Morgan’s size so I should have something.”

 

Jasmine went over to the rack of bows to choose something while Eraenes repeated the conversation to her friend. Katherine was delighted at the idea of learning to use a bow. Not having to fight someone up close would be much less stressful than the sheer instinct needed when using a sword. The blacksmith selected a small, elegantly carved, yew bow for Katherine, along with a largish quiver, and enough arrows to fill it. She handed them over to Katherine, who blushed and, due to the language barrier, expressed her thanks in a series of frantic, embarrassed bows. Eraenes thanked Jasmine, and added that armor would not be needed for her friend, as she was not meat like a human and could simply heal any wounds with no trouble.

  
Weapon in hand, Ronald escorted the friends back to their chamber and instructed them to wait for Lady Morgan to fetch them for the rest of the travel preparations.


	7. Chapter 7

Morgan took her sweet time getting to Katherine and Eraenes. The two seemed ridiculous and unprepared, and them monopolizing Ronald’s attention, unintentionally or not, was unacceptable to her. Before joining them Morgan made a fool loop around the castle, picking up various odds and ends for the journey as slowly as she could. However, when Morgan was midway through requesting herself a bedroll, the bard interrupted her, annoyed by Morgan’s procrastination.

 

“What are you doing?” the bard asked.

 

“Preparing for our quest, as you can probably tell,” Morgan replied.

 

“It looks like you’re wasting time.”

 

“Says who?”

 

“Says me. Those mages that came to help us out have been in their room doing coin tricks for over an hour now.”

 

“So? There’s no reason for me to hurry up, Kalypso, I’ll get there when I get there.”

 

“Don’t be an asshole,” Kalypso replied. “Go help them out!  Do you really think they're alright on their own? The only one that can speak English is that tall one, and she still sounds strange.”

 

“Fine, but I won’t be happy about it.”

 

“You’re not happy about anything,” Kalypso pointed out.

 

Morgan huffed and shoved her friend away, angry but knowing that Kalypso was right, and her charges couldn’t wait any longer. She still walked slowly, but Morgan didn’t make any unnecessary stops on her way to Katherine and Eraenes’s room. When Morgan reached their door she knocked, secretly hoping that they weren’t there and wouldn’t answer. Alas, Katherine threw the door open in excitement and embraced her before Morgan could even finish. Morgan stumbled through the doorway with her overly friendly accessory, and noticed the elf wince at the sight. Eraenes, thankfully, lifted Katherine off her, and scolded the young princess for her indignity.

 

“Good afternoon,” Morgan greeted flatly.

 

“Good afternoon,” Eraenes replied as she and Katherine bowed. “You are here to help us prepare, yes? All we need are horses, I believe; we brought everything else with us from the Forest.”

 

“Well, that’s...excellent,” Morgan forced out. “I can handle that, then. The Queen shall discuss the plans in more detail at dinner tonight. Be there, and listen carefully.” Morgan turned and left, glad that she wouldn’t have to do much for those strangers.

 

* * *

 

Dinner that night was at a much smaller, and more manageable, table. Katherine and the Queen, both being royalty, sat at the ends of the table, with Eraenes and Kalypso on one side, and Morgan and Ronald on the other. The group sat quietly as food was brought out, all patiently waiting for the Queen to apprise them of the mission’s details. The Queen waited until she was full to tell them, keeping her guests on the edge of their seats with anticipation.

 

“Several years ago a town on the very outskirts of Coraje burned to the ground,” the Queen said softly. Eraenes whispered this to Katherine. “For a while the attacks stayed only on our borders, where our settlements are few and far between. Recently, however, they’ve been getting closer and closer to our more populous areas. We searched for clues on the sites and in our libraries, and our books spoke of a monstrous beast that burned and killed with no remorse. The people of Coraje do not practice magic, even if we did it would be weak, and so I reached out for help. I must know, can you slay a dragon with your magic?” the Queen asked.

 

Katherine glanced at Eraenes, wondering just how strong her friend was, before looking down at herself and wondering if she could really kill a living creature. Eraenes’s eyes hardened behind her darkened spectacles, and without hesitation or a quiver in her voice, she answered “Absolutely.” Katherine could tell from the look on her face that Eraenes had consented to going. The princess wasn’t afraid of their mission, and was glad her friend wasn’t either. Katherine grinned in excitement.

 

“That’s, that’s fantastic!” the Queen cried, startling Morgan and Ronald a bit. “Then, if everything is prepared, you can leave tomorrow!” Eraenes relayed this to Katherine, and both nodded their assent. Morgan looked annoyed. “The two of you are going to become such great friends with Morgan and Kalypso!” 

 

“Huh?” the knight and the bard asked in unison.

 

“Well of course on such an intense mission such as this you will all bond for life, at least that’s what I’ve gleaned from the stories,” the Queen answered.

 

“Like I’d ever be friends with them!” Morgan shouted. At the same time Kalypso cried “Why am I going!?”

 

“Well I obviously need people I trust on this mission,” the Queen answered Kalypso. “And you mustn’t separate yourself from others Morgan, it is a terrible thing to be lonely.”

 

Eraenes snorted at that, and Katherine elbowed her in warning. Morgan’s expression was murderous, and even Ronald who to that point had been sitting relaxed in his chair tensed up. The Queen, however, blundered straight through without realizing how hostile Morgan was, and thanked everyone for their assistance. The group ate dessert in silence, Katherine and the Queen moaning and smiling in enjoyment while everyone else just did their best to ignore Morgan’s sour mood. Eventually Eraenes managed to drag Katherine away from the table under the pretense of retiring early to prepare for the next day’s mission.

 

Eraenes splayed out on the bed with her cape and boots off, groaning. Katherine, knowing that her friend was just being dramatic, let her dress recede into her body and joined her. She curled her small body against Eraenes’s chest and sighed in contentment. Eraenes awkwardly patted her on the back in return. They fell asleep together, Eraenes thinking about the dragon and Katherine wondering how long they would be gone, and how mad her father would be when they got back.

 

* * *

 

The next day found all four women standing half asleep in the castle's foyer. Eraenes and Katherine had their rucksacks packed and with them, while Morgan and Kalypso had been able to store everything in their saddlebags, given their home advantage. The Queen came to bid them goodbye as a few servants were sent to fetch the horses. She wrapped Kalypso in a tight embrace, tears slipping down her cheeks, and patted Morgan lightly on the back. Katherine and Eraenes both received a warm, solid handshake and a smile. Ronald grinned and winked at Morgan before hugging her goodbye. He slipped a small envelope into the inner pocket of her jacket as he did so.

Morgan and Katherine’s horses were both a bit short, to fit them, with Kalypso’s being of average size in turn, and Eraenes’s steed as large and sturdy as a mountain. They rode off with the rising sun, Kalypso and Morgan waving back at their friends and Katherine and Eraenes looking forward to the future.


	8. Chapter 8

The first day the group spent travelling was silent. Even Katherine, an early riser by habit, was still exhausted when they set out and didn’t absorb enough energy until well into the day. Eraenes and Kalypso spent the day staring at the ground half asleep. Only Morgan was at all focused, looking forward intently on the path in front of them. The scowl on her face was unwavering, as well as the glare that at any moment could fix itself on a less attentive member of the group. That night they settled by a river, Eraenes sleeping in the water and her companions sleeping on the bank.

 

The second day Kalypso played music on her lute as the group rode, occasionally singing a few verses of half finished songs as she did so. It irritated Morgan who looked as if she hadn’t had much sleep during the night, but Katherine and Eraenes found her tunes pleasant and catchy. Katherine chatted excitedly to Eraenes most of the day, and Eraenes, while she did not often answer, listened carefully. Another night came, and because the path followed the river they slept as they had the night before.

 

On the third day, the group found themselves in a thick wood. Morgan kept her lead, and because everyone else trusted that she knew where she was going, they let her. However, when they were about midway through the forest, Morgan and her horse came to a screeching halt. Everyone else took another few seconds and much chaos to stop themselves once they realized. Kalypso started to ask what had happened, but Morgan interrupted her and motioned for quiet. Everyone became tense, listening for whatever threat Morgan had perceived that they were oblivious to. They waited, one minute stretched into two into three, but nothing happened, not a single sound escaped from the trees. Nothing, until the second the group let down their guard and started moving again, when all at once a group of large men sprung from the forest and surrounded them.

 

Morgan wasted no time in leaping from her horse and unsheathing her sword, but before she could even begin to raise it the bandits were yanked high into the air by their ankles. The men screamed out in terror, and Morgan looked panicked, glancing around in search of the new enemy. It was Katherine that soothed her fears, giggling softly and lowering the men down with the vines she had made spring forth from somewhere in the trees. 

 

“Was that-was that you?” Morgan directed at Katherine, which Eraenes dutifully translated. 

 

Katherine’s head bobbed up and down in confirmation and excitement. She had no idea that she could use her magic that quickly under pressure, always having had plenty of time, and encouragement from her friend. She then had the vines wrap themselves around the bandits completely, and left them bound on the road. Of course then everyone had to dismount because Morgan was insistent that they deliver the men to the proper authorities, and so the men had to be tied over the backs of their horses. Eraenes and Kalypso, because they had the larger horses, both took two, while Katherine and Morgan could only carry one man on each of their horses. Morgan was sure that there was a town just on the other side of the forest with a sheriff, and a jail to house the criminals, so the group just continued as they had been for the past few days.

 

The sun fell below the horizon before the trees began to thin. Luckily, Morgan was right in her assertion of there being a town, and right on the edge was the sheriff’s office. Morgan hitched her horse to a post just outside  it and strolled right on in. Everyone else stayed outside, either tied up or just unwilling to move after a long day of travel. Several minutes afterward, Morgan emerged with an overall average looking, but vaguely grimy, man who they assumed to be in charge of the station. The man trudged down the front steps of the building before stopping to appraise the situation in front of him. Morgan returned to the group and had them unload the bandits from their horses. Katherine and Kalypso retrieved the men on their horses without too much of a hassle, but Morgan was quickly annoyed by how weak Eraenes was, despite her size. Katherine had to step in and help Eraenes with her captives before Morgan lost her temper. The sheriff helped them herd their captured bandits into his office and lock them in a large jail cell inside.

 

“Now,” said the sheriff. “The name’s Cameron, and I already know Lady Morgan here, so who are you?”

 

“Kalypso,” answered Kalypso.

 

“Eraenes,” answered Eraenes. “This is Princess Katherine.” She gestured at her friend.

 

“Pleased to me you ladies. Now Lady Morgan, there was something you wanted to discuss?” He asked.

 

“I’d rather speak to you  _ alone  _ Sheriff,” Morgan answered.

 

“There anywhere to get a drink in this town then?” Kalypso asked, a bit irked by Morgan’s dismissal of her. 

 

“Down the street, big sign, can’t miss it. There’s an inn there too if you want to set up shop. It's alright if you wanna leave your horses tied here until morning.”

 

“Thank you,” Kalypso answered. She nodded at Eraenes and Katherine, “Let’s go.”

 

Eraenes told Katherine what was happening, and received a nod in agreement. The three left Morgan to whatever it was she wanted to do with the Sheriff, and walked down to the small tavern down the street. 

 

* * *

 

“My  _ real  _ problem, ya know, my  _ real  _ problem is this ain’t even the first time she’s da-she’s done somethin’ like this,” Kalypso slurred out while Eraenes listened. “I feel like we’re growin’ apart, but I don’ really know what to  _ do  _ about it, yeah?”

 

Eraenes shrugged. The second Kalypso had begun slurring, Eraenes had sent Katherine to the inn to get some sleep, not wanting to expose the princess to their inebriation. Eraenes herself was almost as drunk as her new friend, and was definitely too drunk to hold her tongue.

 

“My mother once told me that if someone insults your honor you should eat them,” Eraenes advised. “Although if Lady Morgan’s crimes are not as harsh as that I’m sure the removal of a limb or two would be plenty.”

 

Kalypso stared up at her with a loose, amused grin. “You’re really weird, you know that? Is her ladyship always sayin’ stuff like that too but we just can’t understand her?” Kalypso asked.

 

“Katherine-” Eraenes broke out into giggles. “Katherine has not one cruel bone in her body, well, no bones at all actually but you know what I mean.”

 

“Wha’did’ya say? No bones? I must be drunker than I thought.”

 

“Probably. I believe it is about time we retire, my friend.”

  
Kalypso and Eraenes stumbled outside and into the inn next door. The innkeeper directed them upstair to their room, and they collapsed onto the bed next to Katherine, shoes still on, and Eraenes’ glasses still perched on her nose. Morgan didn’t return that night.


	9. Chapter 9

Morgan showed up at the inn the next morning without the Sheriff. She rousted the rest of the group from their bed and sent them off to bathe, she was only protested by soft groans and the occasional mumble. They grabbed their packs and went out by the river, where Eraenes hid herself to strip before diving into the water. She scrubbed quickly at her skin before emerging as quickly as she had entered and dressing again in secrecy. Katherine sat peacefully on the bank and soaked up the sun while Kalypso and Morgan stripped down and leisurely cleaned themselves. 

 

“So,” Kalypso said to Morgan. “What did you and the Sheriff talk about, anything to do with the dragon?” She asked.

 

“He gave us a direction,” Morgan answered. “He said there’s been a lot of activity in the North lately, near the mountains.”

 

“A GOOD PLACE TO FIND A DRAGON!” Eraenes shouted from somewhere hidden nearby. “THEY TEND TO NEST AND MOUNTAINS ARE VERY DEFENSIBLE.” Katherine cocked her head questioningly, and seeing her friend from wherever she was hidden, Eraenes helpfully translated for her. 

 

“Where- whatever. That’s good to know, I guess, anything that gives us more information is good,” Morgan answered.

 

“Good.” Katherine said decisively with a sharp nod of her head, despite not actually knowing what Morgan had just said. Kalypso snorted in response. Eraenes smiled from her hiding place, glad that her friend had begun the mimicry stage of learning a new language, hoping that understanding would come quickly.

 

“We can start out after breakfast then, Cameron said the tavern has pretty good food. What did you think?” Morgan asked Kalypso.

 

“We didn’t actually eat anything, ya’know, and who’s Cameron?” Kalypso replied.

 

“The Sheriff.”

 

“Oh. Hmm.” Kalypso said nothing more, and the group finished bathing in silence.

 

* * *

 

Once they had eaten their fill and packed some more food into their bags, the group left the small town. Kalypso was glad to be free of the Sheriff, Morgan was grumpy as always, and Katherine and Eraenes really didn’t care whether they stayed or went. Of course Eraenes, at that time, was distracted thinking about the dragon, and what it had done. She wanted to find it, to hurt it, but at the same time was so very, very frightened of it.

 

They hadn’t been riding even ten minutes before they heard a voice calling to them from the direction of the village. “Wait!” Someone cried. “Wait just a second, please!” Everyone stopped, and looked back down the road to find a stocky young woman huffing and puffing toward them. 

 

“Can we help you?” Morgan asked as the woman finally reached them.

 

Unfortunately the poor woman was much too out of breath to speak at that point, but in answer she removed a small scroll from her breast pocket and thrust it toward Morgan. Morgan dismounted and snatched the scroll out of the woman’s outstretched hand in annoyance. She unrolled it with a frown, but when she glanced down at the signature, she smiled.

 

“It’s from Ronald,” Morgan said, pleased. She read the letter. “He said that once we find where the dragon is we should send him a message so he can bring us some troops.”

 

“Anything that means we won’t have to go up against something like that alone is fine by me,” Kalypso answered. 

 

_ “How did he know where to find us?”  _ Katherine asked her friend. 

 

_ “I. He. I am unsure, I will ask,”  _ Eraenes responded. “Lady Morgan, Katherine was just wondering how he found us so quickly.”

 

“It was- He probably- He’s very smart, Hunter, I’m sure he deduced where we were headed with ease,” Morgan answered, unsatisfactorily. 

 

Eraenes hummed doubtfully in response, but relayed the answer to Katherine anyway. With nothing left to say Kalypso thanked the young woman, and the group restarted their path away from the town.

 

* * *

 

It took another week of travelling, north this time, to reach another obstacle. The days had mostly been spent trying to teach Katherine some Ispaniká, vital if she wanted to go anywhere without Eraenes. She could now greet people, say please and thank you, and ask them for help. Katherine also took up mimicking everything Eraenes said, which was partially helpful to her education and partially incredibly annoying. Nonetheless Katherine was much improved by the time the team reached another large forest.

 

They entered cautiously, remembering the bandits concealed in the last wood they had entered. This forest seemed darker than the last one, the trees packed more closely or more branches or something kept the light from penetrating the canopy of leaves above. Eraenes allowed water to slip from her flask before forming it into a ring around the party. Morgan and Kalypso were just about to protest and question it, but before they could the water began to glow brightly, illuminating their path and each other. Katherine clapped delightedly at the lovely blue light and Kalypso grinned in appreciation. Morgan, of course, no matter how awed she was would never admit it, and so just huffed in response. The group continued on through the forest, the path now revealed with Eraenes’ help.

 

This would be the second time venturing into a forest would spell trouble for them, and in fact it was beginning to seem to Katherine and Eraenes that the world only turned within the confines of trees. However, this threat was not made up of human attackers with swords and knives, but creatures of the forest, much like Katherine. Silvery flashes of fur appeared near the ground below them, each sighting passing by in an instant. Everyone was tense, but continued on, waiting for the attack. 

 

As the minutes wore on the sightings became more and more frequent, something even rushed across the darkened path in front of the group once, briefly startling the horses. Despite the long prelude to their appearance Eraenes was still caught off guard when one, enormous, ghost-like wolf broke through her ring of water and slammed into her at full force, knocking her clear off her horse and unconscious on the ground.


	10. Chapter 9

Eraenes’ eyes slowly fluttered open and was instantly blinded by the unfiltered sunlight hitting them. She winced in pain and turned her head away from the light, inadvertently pulling at an ache deep in the muscles of her back. Eraenes gritted her teeth to stop from crying out, and instead tried to sit up and see where she was. She managed after several minutes and a lot more pain, and found herself in a small wooden hut. She had been lying on her sleeping pack and the ground around her was covered in a thick bed of leaves, the light was streaming through a tiny door several feet in front of her. Not really sure what else to do, and not wanting to remain in such a cramped space, Eraenes slid herself out the door with as much grace as she could muster.

 

Katherine’s sunny face greeted Eraenes as she emerged. She had no doubt heard Eraenes’ rustling within the hut and had come to investigate. Eraenes blinked stupidly at her, barely making out her friend in the harsh light. Katherine only realised the problem when Eraenes’ eyes began to water, and with an apologetic squeak she removed the glasses from her own cloak and slid them onto Eraenes’ face. 

 

_ “Thank you, Katherine, I had forgotten how blinding the day was. Now, well, now I wish to know what has happened, where are we?” _ Eraenes asked.

 

_ “You were knocked off your horse,”  _ Katherine answered.

 

_ “Yes, thank you, I remember that. What happened afterwards is what I want to know,”  _ Eraenes gritted out, annoyed and in pain.

 

_ “We ended up surrounded by those things following us through the forest. They were  _ wolves _ Eraenes, but they looked strange, all silver and glowing,”  _ Katherine said.

 

_ “Like spirits?” _

 

_ “Exactly. I managed to knock a few away from us, but Morgan’s sword just went right through them, and Kalypso was almost injured trying to calm the horses,”  _ Katherine explained. 

 

_ “Then how did we escape, and where are we?”  _ Eraenes asked. 

 

_ “We were rescued by the forest’s living inhabitants, I believe they may have been lured by Morgan’s shouting,”  _ Katherine giggled out. Eraenes smirked in response.  _ “Their weapons could hurt the wolves, so they were able to chase them back. They took us back here, to their camp, so we could receive medical attention. You’ve been out for a while, that fall did a lot of damage.” _

 

_ “Nothing irreparable I hope?” _

 

_ “You’re  _ fine _ , Eraenes,”  _ Katherine chided.

 

_ “Hmmpf. Now where is everyone? I doubt Morgan is particularly pleased about the halt my injury has caused in our progress.” _

 

_ “I’m not entirely sure how she feels, I don’t understand most of what she said, but she didn’t sound very happy at all since we got here,” _ Katherine answered.  _ “Come on, they’re in the next clearing.”  _ Katherine helped Eraenes to her feet and tugged her in the direction of a small path through the trees.

 

_ “I suppose I’m ready to face her, and if she makes my headache worse I’ll have a reason to retaliate,” _ Eraenes decided.

 

_ “Please try not to upset her, Eraenes, its mean.” _

 

_ “Hmmpf.” _

 

* * *

 

“Greetings my friends,” Eraenes directed at Morgan and Kalypso as she and Katherine enter the clearing. The women were sitting next to each other on a large log, across from a group of small bearlike creatures. Unsure of what language their saviors spoke, Eraenes folded her lengthy body in two in the most graceful bow she was capable of instead.

 

“Ah, you have awakened, my dear,” said one of the creatures. Eraenes silently thanked the gods that they spoke the common language of Coraje. “You are alright, I hope?”

 

“Yes, and thank you for tending to me in my time of need, I deeply appreciate you kindness.”

 

“There is no need for thanks, kindness is to be expected not rewarded,” the creature replied.

 

“Still,” Eraenes said. “I am thankful, not everyone is so willing to help strangers such as us. Now if I may ask, I have not heard any nonhuman populations within Coraje, so who are you?” Looks of surprise and guilt flashed across Kalypso and Morgans’ faces, having forgotten to as themselves.

 

“Well,  _ I _ am Sabia, but  _ we  _ are the Kowe,” the creature answered with pride, spreading its arms to gesture to the others around it.

 

“It is very nice to meet you Sabia of the Kowe. I am Eraenes Hunter who dwells within Gaia’s Forest with my ladyship, the princess,” Eraenes replied.

 

“Dear Katherine, yes, we all got to know each other while you rested.”

 

“I take it you know why we were in your forest in the first place then?” Eraenes asked.

 

“You’re looking for Wyndelle, Lady Morgan has already apprised us of the whole situation,” Sabia said, noting the confounded look on Eraenes’ face. “Wyndelle is the dragon of course, dear. Although I am not sure whether she’s kept that name, she can be very fickle sometimes and we haven’t seen her in quite a while.”

 

“Uh...” was all Eraenes could get out as she glanced over at her friends. They looked as helpless and confused as she did. Sabia took no notice of them, and instead returned to its previous activity: staring off into the sky longingly. Eraenes did not dare interrupt the creature to ask for clarification, and instead joined her friends on the log. 

 

Morgan, in an attempt to shame Eraenes for her ineptitude made intense eye contact with her, hoping Eraenes would avert her eyes in embarrassment. Eraenes, in spite of Morgan’s hopes, stared back at her through her darkened glasses, not stopping until Morgan herself was forced to look away. Kalypso huffed in amusement at the interaction, seemingly unbothered by Morgan’s ire.

 

* * *

 

“Sabia,” Kalypso said at dinner that very night. “We are traveling up north to find the dra- _ to find Wyndelle _ . Do you know exactly where she lives?”

 

“Up in the mountains of course, along with those  _ girls _ of hers,” Sabia said, smirking. 

 

“ _ Girls? _ ” Kalypso asked with a smirk.

 

“Be quiet,” Morgan scolded in return. She turned to Sabia. “Now, the mountains you say?”


	11. Chapter 10

Eraenes narrowly dodged three quick strikes from Katherine’s wildly whipping vines. Katherine continued her assault, willing the tree roots beneath the ground to spring up and trip her. Eraenes spilled onto the ground ungracefully, and didn’t have time to roll away before the roots fully ensnared one of her ankles. Katherine took aim with her bow, training the tip of her arrow at her friend’s chest, but before she could release it Eraenes forced the moisture within the roots to freeze, before shattering her restraints and running. Just as Eraenes thought she had reached a safe distance a sword swung up at her from the underbrush, sending her falling back to avoid it. With Morgan’s sword at her throat and Katherine guarding her from behind, Eraenes thought she had lost the training exercise.

 

Kalypso peaked out at the scene from within the trees, a bit scared that she would have to continue the exercise alone. Eraenes kept her eyes on Morgan so as not to alert the enemy of her teammate’s whereabouts. Kalypso waited until Katherine turned her back on the trees to quietly creep towards Morgan. The second before Kalypso made her move Eraenes let out a sharp cry and collapsed onto the hard ground, sharpening Morgan’s attention on her. Kalypso snuck a dagger to Morgan’s throat the moment after. Morgan tried to elbow her back, but Kalypso was far too sturdy to be moved by someone that small.

 

With Morgan covered, Eraenes scrambled to her feet. She drew a long, thin stream of water from her flask that reacted to her motions like a whip, cracking through the air and causing Katherine to turn around in surprise. The end of the stream struck a tree just to the right of Katherine’s head, splitting the wood and sending her running. Eraenes swore under her breath at the miss, but was secretly relieved to not have hurt her friend, despite Morgan’s insistence they treat the exercise like a real battle. While Morgan tried to dislodge herself from Kalypso’s hold, Eraenes hurried after Katherine.

Eraenes had never been very fit and was easily winded by running, while Katherine was as swift as any deer as she moved. Still, Eraenes did her best, trying to force Katherine into a corner with calculated strikes to her friend’s path, turning her away from freedom. Behind them Morgan continued to struggle. As Eraenes gave chase, Kalypso had confiscated Morgan’s sword and lifted her up off the ground in a tight hold. Katherine reached the end of her escape attempt against one of the Kowe’s wooden huts. Both women knew that Katherine wouldn’t risk damaging anything belonging to their new friends, so Eraenes was able to bind her tightly with her whip. They walked back over to Kalypso and Morgan, and given that both women had been restrained, declared the exercise over.

 

* * *

 

“Honestly, with legs that long how are you so slow?” Morgan sneered at Eraenes in annoyance as they ate lunch.

 

“I’m a scholar not a warrior Morgan. Besides, there’s never been any need for me to be very fast on land,” Eraenes replied, ignoring Katherine’s smirk when she translated. 

 

_ “You would probably be faster if you would come on runs with me, you know,”  _ Katherine told her. Eraenes neglected to share that comment with the group.

 

“Slow or not you’re well enough to train, so we can head out tomorrow morning,” Morgan said.

 

“At least we have a destination now,” Kalypso grumbled. “Anymore word from your boy toy?”

 

“Yesterday, and he is  _ not _ my boy toy,” Morgan answered. “I wrote back to tell him where we’re headed so he can send reinforcements.”

 

_ “Do you really think that plan wise,”  _ Katherine asked through her friend. 

 

“That Sabia did make it seem like the dragon was the friendly type,” Kalypso added.

 

“Just because someone seems friendly doesn’t mean they are,” Morgan replied.

 

“Advice you should always be careful to remember,” Eraenes said. 

 

“You wanna fight you goddamned freak?” Morgan shot back with such venom Eraenes couldn’t bring herself to stare the knight down again.

 

“Um, so, I suppose we’ll leave at dawn tomorrow and head for the mountain,” Kalypso said, trying to cut through the almost palpable tension in the clearing.

 

_ “That sounds fine, the morning should be beautiful, don’t you think Eraenes?”  _ Katherine asked. Eraenes agreed softly.

 

“Right,” Kalypso said. “I suppose I’ll see you all tomorrow, I’m just going to...go.” Kalypso escaped as quickly as she could.

  

* * *

 

 

Katherine greeted the dawn with a loud whoop of excitement that served to rouse the rest of the party. Beside her Eraenes groaned. While Katherine ran out to the horses, her friend struggled to sit up and find her glasses in the blinding light. Nearby, Morgan elbowed Kalypso awake before rising easily and dressing. Kalypso and Eraenes took much longer to get ready than their friends. Neither were morning people, and both usually made it a rule to never rise before ten, but they had no choice and so did eventually manage to prepare themselves.

 

“If I drop dead from exhaustion I want my ashes thrown in Morgan’s face,” Eraenes said as she pulled herself onto her horse. 

 

“Maybe you would conserve more energy if you weren’t so dramatic,” Morgan muttered from her perch. Kalypso just grunted and slumped down on her saddle.

 

“I do hope you all aren’t leaving without saying goodbye,” Sabia called out as she tottered over to the party. “It’s rather rude you know.” Everyone looked down at her, guilt clear in their faces.

 

“Our apologies.”

 

“Sorry ma’am.”

 

_ “My mistake.” _

 

“Please forgive us.”

 

“Well that’s alright then, as long as you’re sorry,” Sabia replied with a sigh. “I just wanted to tell all of you to be careful on your trip. Somebody’s been stirring things up around these parts lately; it wouldn’t do for any of you to be hurt because I didn’t warn you.”

 

“You don’t need to worry about us, ma’am. Now that we know what can lurk out here, we’ll be prepared,” Kalypso assured. The rest of the party nodded in agreement.

 

“Thank you, again, for your assistance and hospitality Sabia,” Eraenes said.

 

“And again, there is no need for thanks. Now be good, and try not to stray too far from the path,” Sabia responded, as the party began moving. Everyone waved goodbye to her, except for Katherine who blew her a sweet kiss as she rode off.


End file.
